Comparative cranio-dental morphometry between the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal

The black-backed jackal (Lupulella mesomelas) and the side-striped jackal (Lupulella adusta) are the only two representatives of the genus. The majority of published works on these two species concern ethological and ecological studies aimed at identifying their respective ecological niches, alongside some osteometric publications. In the modern record, there are only metric studies, and the few morphological descriptions are entirely derived from palaeontological works on fossil species. This lack of description and morphological characterisation specific to modern jackals leads to problems identifying fossil specimens. That is why we propose here a comparative morphometric study aimed at facilitating the identification of L. mesomelas and L. adusta. The seriation of inter- and intraspecific variability is also evaluated, paving the way for taxonomic reassessments of fossil relatives.